Local Issues

The Oregon Supreme Court recently overturned the efforts of the Oregon Legislature to correct some of the funding problems as they affect PERS. I interviewed more than a half-dozen legislators in 2014 about what they thought about the PERS funding issue and how they would deal with it. This piece is a look back at the comments of those legislators and their thoughts in light of the recent ruling.
14:49 minutes (13.57 MB)

This is a Bread and Roses web exclusive. Delphine Criscenzo speaks with Therese Shechter, the producer of the new documentary “How to Lose Your Virginity? What if all we had to lose were our virginity myths?” A local organization, A Fourth Act is bringing the film to Portland on May 21st along with Therese but only if 65 people buy their tickets in advance. Visit https://www.tugg.com/events/19332 to reserve your ticket. You will be asked to purchase your ticket but the amount will only be deducted once the screening takes place. You only have until May 14th to reserve your ticket.
40:39 minutes (37.22 MB)

The only nuclear plant in the pacific northwest, the Columbia Generating Station, is going offline tomorrow for the first time in two years for a routine re-fueling.
But a number of citizen and environmental groups are hoping that the plant will stay offline for a lot longer than the few days that are scheduled – and possibly forever.
The groups are calling for a public hearing to demand that a crack in the jet pump at the Columbia nuclear generator be fixed.
4:18 minutes (1.97 MB)

A group of neighbors in north Portland are mobilizing a last-ditch effort to save an oak savannah and heritage tree on a spot of land they call ‘Overlook Bluff’.
The savannah is located in the neighborhood north of Overlook Park, west of Interstate Avenue, overlooking the Willamette River.
Friends of Overlook Bluff was organized about 3 years ago to work to save the meadow and tree.
The group has raised over four hundred thousand dollars to try to buy the property to protect it from development, but they need twice that amount to purchase the land.
And now, the owner has announced that he’s ready to sell the land to the highest bidder.
3:58 minutes (3.63 MB)

The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released five options for updating the Northwest Forest Plan, which determines, among other things, the number of board feet allowed to be harvested from the O & C lands. These lands are a patchwork of square-mile plots surrounding the coprridor of the failed Oregon & California railroad extending the full length of the Oregon coast. In the 1930s, a deal was set up where the land once owned by the O & C would become public land for the benefit of local counties, and the result was decades of wholesale logging, only ending in the early 1990s due to environmental regulations.
5:45 minutes (5.26 MB)

A new report by Multnomah County reveals a staggering health disparity for Pacific Islanders in Oregon. Oregon has the fifth largest population of Pacific Islanders in the country, but some are barred from receiving Medicaid. And those who are eligible often still can’t afford it. The US has a checkered history with Pacific Island nations, and those communities in general fly under the public radar. Alan Montesillo spoke with Kristina Narayan, who is a policy associate at the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon. She explained the history behind the US relationship with Pacific Islands, and what is blocking them from getting healthcare today.
5:15 minutes (4.8 MB)